The Indian board could be only party coming out triumphant from an ICC money pool model that leaves the rest of the cricket world hard done by.
The revenue distribution model for the 2024-27 ICC global events cycle is all set to enrich the BCCI’s already affluent coffers as the Indian board is projected to receive a whopping sum of 230 USD million from the governing body, ESPNcricinfo reported.
Of the USD 600 million the ICC is expecting in return for the selling of global television and streaming rights from the forthcoming cycle of men’s and women’s events across formats, the BCCI could be earning upto 38.5% of its own, once again reinforcing its status as the game’s highest-earning cricket board.
With the senior Indian team being the biggest attraction, determinant of the majority of the ICC money pool, made up of the selling of rights for World Cups and Champions Trophy, and broadcast income for multiple other boards via away Indian series, the BCCI has once again flexed its muscles into nearly getting the financial model it always desired.
That, however, leaves the rest of the cricket world, more dependent on the ICC money pot than the BCCI, hard done by as the next highest earner among the boards – the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) – can expect to take home only 6.89% of the total purse, around USD 41.3 million for the coming two T20 World Cups (2024 and 2026), the Champions Trophy (2025) and the ODI World Cup (2027).
Next up on the list is Cricket Australia (CA), due to receive 6.25% from the money pot, which would amount upto USD 37.53 million. The situation will be worse for the other cricket boards, already battling for survival, with the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) being the only other administrative body receiving more than USD 30 million from the new financial jackpot at USD 34.51 million.
Other eight full members based in South Africa, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, West Indies, Bangladesh, Ireland, Zimbabwe and Afghanistan can expect to receive less than 5%. The only boards set to get the worse deal from this lot will, as usual, be the associates, 93 of whom will have to divide a measly share of 11.19% or USD 67.16 million.
“The overall annual figure is based on the estimated earnings of the ICC – over US$ 3.2 billion – from the sale of its media rights alone, which recently, for the first time, were sold across five separate regions globally including the Indian market,” reported ESPNcricinfo. “The vast bulk of that money has come from the sale of rights in the Indian market, where Disney Star* paid just over US$ 3 billion for four years.”
It is understood that this proposed model, skewed heavily in favour of the BCCI, was developed in presence by an ICC-appointed team and worked over closely by the governing body’s finance and commercial affairs (F&CA) committee and was ultimately discussed by the ICC board in March.
ESPNcricinfo reported, during this meeting, only some details of the model were shared with all full members and associates representatives, including how the percentage of allocation for each member is being arrived at. The paper was then circulated among the full members and their directors.
The “component weightings” or the key factors in determining this percentage were: (a) cricket history (b) performance in both men’s and women’s ICC events over the last 16 years (c) contribution to the ICC’s commercial revenue (d) And, an equal weightage for the status of being a Full Member.
In the model quite similar to the one proposed by the infamous ‘BIG 3’ collaboration, featuring top dogs India, Australia and England, back in 2014, “every Full Member starts on equal footing, listed to receive an 8.3% share for being a Full Member. But the ‘effective percentage’ each will receive ultimately is based on an average weightage of all four criteria and it quickly changes based on the other three parameters,” ESPNcricinfo reported.
“The key criterion is the commercial value each board brings to the global pot, which is where the scales tilt heavily in favour of the BCCI.”
